James (Jim) Norris passed away Aug. 20, after a long illness.

Norris was ACCA’s executive vice president from 1969 until he retired in 1997. He remained in the HVACR industry after his retirement working as chairman of the board of GroupMac. While Norris was the top executive of ACCA, the association thrived and grew its membership nationwide.

“I had the privilege of working with Jim through my participation on the national ACCA board of directors in the early 1990s,” said Bob Keingstein, president of Boss Facility Service Inc. in Ronokonkoma, New York, and 1999 ACCA chairman. “His ability to lead ACCA, and his knowledge and insight into the HVAC industry, was something I truly admired. Through the years, he was someone I looked up to both figuratively and literally. He always had a smile on his face and had the ability to make everyone serving with him feel comfortable and welcome. He led ACCA through some tough times, but always stayed focused on our mission to increase the sphere of influence that ACCA has within the industry. He accomplished that goal and many more. There are not many giants in this industry, but I think we can all agree that we just lost one of our finest, and he will always be missed.”

“Jim had tremendous energy and great passion for our industry,” said Lee Rosenberg, chairman of Rosenberg Indoor Comfort in San Antonio and 1995 ACCA chairman. “He was admired and well-respected by his staff at ACCA, the ACCA Board of Directors, the entire membership, and his colleagues in other industries. He’ll always be remembered as an engaging, enthusiastic, and exciting communicator in our industry.”

“Jim’s hard work and dedication to the HVACR contracting community was unprecedented and certainly laid the solid foundation for ACCA’s growth and success,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, president and CEO, ACCA. “He certainly will be remembered.”

Norris is survived by his wife, Barb Norris, and his brother Tom Norris. Visitation and funeral services were held Sept. 1 at Collins Funeral Home in Silver Spring, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Norris’ name to So Others May Eat (SOME), www.some.org.

Publication date: 9/21/2015